A different path
by mtb17
Summary: Humanity has walked a different path. No mass effect fields or Element Zero, but ShockPoint Drives and Gravity Shields. When Humanity first makes contact, the council hopes they can help in the fight against sovereign, a reaper a rogue spectre called Saren released. However, the council doesn't know that humanity has released something much more evil upon the Galaxy...
1. Chapter 1: The Timeline

##Authors notes##

Hi, this is my first FanFic and I hope you have a good read. This is the introduction chapter that shows the conjoined Dead Space and Mass Effect timeline. I hope you can leave a review with constructive criticism. I would always like to learn from my mistakes! Take into account that English is not my first language and I have checked the grammar and spelling to the best of my abilities.

And yes I know that it takes place later in the future, but the reapers have not yet invaded the galaxy yet and Saren, Shepard and others live in the 26th century now instead of the 22 century

**A different path**

65 million years B.C.: An enormous asteroid crashes in what's now called Mexico, creating the Chicxulub crater and wiping out the dinosaurs.

2050 A.D.: An energy crisis and an exploding population growth destabilize the world and some countries are on the edge of war. The major superpowers continue to fund research into different energy sources.

2069: A conjoined prestige space project between the US and the European Federation is a success. The projects goal was to establish a permanent human settlement on the Moon. Its build in the Shackleton Crater and named the Armstrong Outpost. It's formally opened on July 20th, marking the 100th anniversary of the first lunar landing.

2071: The terms 'Luna' and 'Sol' become popular for unknown reasons. Luna refers to the Moon and Sol to the Solar system.

2076: The last drops of oil reach the European Federation and the OPEC declares that they can no longer suffice in the energy needs of the world. On January 21 the world's population reaches another 'milestone': 9 billion humans are walking or crawling the face of the earth.

2089: The desperate search for oil goes on and other countries suspect the superpowers of holding back oil or information about new oilfields. Alliances are formed and the world is on the brink of war. The European Federation finishes their first nuclear fusion reactor that uses Helium-3 fuel which is delved form the surface of the Moon. The UN is disbanded as it is deemed incapable in doing its main job successfully: keeping the peace in the world.

2093: Even though the European Federation, the US and their new ally the Russian Federation remain military capable due to their fusion reactors and hydrogen fuel, conflicts between the superpowers and third and second world countries are legion.

2103: The European Space Agency's Lowell City in Eos Chasma becomes the first permanent human settlement on Mars.

2112: Scientist predict a mineral crisis within two hundred years if the extreme population growth and expenses by the superpowers are not dealt with. Just like global warming in the 21 century, this prediction is not taken seriously at first.

2115: The European Space Agency is forced to strip and abandon Lowell City, because companies show no interest in the red planet. Only a small research station remains.

2116: Experiments to extract Helium-3 fuel from Saturn's atmosphere begin. Two months later, the experiments are declared a success. Energy and fuel companies rush to the ringed gas giant.

2147: Major wars are fought in Africa, South East Asia, South America and the Middle East. The superpowers don't interfere and become more isolated. Millions die. An unknown element is also found on Mars. Scientist call it Element Unknown. Their ingenuity with names is called indisputable by the public.

2148: An old data cache is discovered on Mars. It contains the drawings of space ships done by children and the cache appears to be launched in 2070 as a time capsule. A scientist describes the situation as: 'One small step for art, but a giant leap for my boring lab wall.'

2177: The US, Canada, Australia, the European Federation and the Russian Federation try to restart the UN concept. China is invited, but refuses to participate.

2179: The UN is reopened and three months later the United Spacefaring Guild (USG) is founded. All space agencies, even the Chinese one, operate under this name and all companies that own spaceships need to register their ships and have to put USG in front of the name of the ship.

2186: Construction of Gagarin Station (Jump Zero) begins beyond the orbit of Pluto under the supervision of newly formed USG. China becomes part of the UN again.

2187: A video of a little girl standing in the bombed out ruins of her own home and holding the lifeless body of her mother in a residence area in Johannesburg becomes viral on the Internet. People all around the world demonstrate and demand that the UN does something about the constant wars in the poorer regions of the planet. The Human Defence Initiative (HDI) is founded under the supervision of the UN to protect humans against the brutality of war.

2192: Unique minerals become more and more scarce. The UN are prepared to invest in companies that want to mine the asteroid belt, but no company show interest in the offer because it's not profitable enough.

2193: More and more power is given to the UN. The superpowers of Earth sign the Terra Firma charter, establishing a representative political body of all countries on earth and is responsible for administrating the territories that officially fall under its control. The UN is dubbed a rather controversial name: The Earth Government, usually named EarthGov by the people.

2196: The HDI is formed into a military force that enforces the Earth Government's orders and is responsible for protecting Earth and her space colonies. The military force is named the Earth Defence Force (EDF).

2213: A large unique mineral deposit is found underwater in Chicxulub crater. An underwater expedition is launched by EarthGov under the lead of Micheal Altman.

2214: The Black Marker is found and the communication with the expedition is lost. Altman returns and is the only survivor. He tells the world about the Black Marker. He says that it's too dangerous and that it drives man to madness. Later, however, he claims that it is the salvation for humanity, brings the dead back to life and is the trigger for the Convergence event that will unite humanity and make it whole so it will finally know peace.

Two weeks later EarthGov seizes the Black Marker and they discover that it's an alien artefact which was in the asteroid that crashed into earth more than 65 million years ago. Surprisingly, the marker is completely intact.

2215: Michael Altman dies mysteriously. Riots break out in reaction to Altman's death; the government is unable to successfully quell the rioters. A sweeping social movement based on Altman's teachings brings about the emergence of the Church of Unitology. Unitology becomes a global religion and then an interstellar religion as its membership spreads off-world.

2256: A rudimentary form of faster-than-light travel is discovered. It still takes relatively long to reach a destination.

2314: Unique minerals are extremely scarce and discoveries of new mineral deposits become less frequent. Earth Government researchers successfully reverse-engineer the Black Marker; the result is a near-perfect replica, eventually dubbed The Red Marker. The Red Marker and a research team are covertly transported to Aegis 7; a deep space planet.

2315: The Red Marker is activated for the first time. Researchers create the first recombinant microbial life form from DNA instructions on the Red Marker and the dormancy-inducing influence of the Red Marker is discovered. Six months later the first Aegis 7 Incident happens. The colony shares the same fate of the Altman expedition. The Red Marker Pedestal is created and fired by the EDF Dreadnought _USM Victory_ as a defensive measure against the effect of the Red Marker. The research team is destroyed, but the mutated organisms are forced into dormancy. All materials related to Aegis 7 and the Red Marker disappear and the file is highly classified. The entire Aegis Cluster is restricted. The first Earth Defence Force agent is secretly assigned to an observational position within the church of Unitology.

2367: A small space mining company called the Concordance Extraction Company (CEC) is founded and begins to 'crack open' asteroids in the asteroid belt in the search of unique minerals like gold.

2400: All earth resources are ravaged, consumed and exhausted. A lot of conflicts take place and the EDF interferes, but only makes things worse.

2440: Years of war have made humanity desperate and the situation on Earth is hopeless. Nuclear war becomes a realistic threat. However, most space stations and colonies are relatively safe havens as the EDF suppresses every act of war in space. But then two discoveries done by Hideki Ishimura change everything; the invention of the ShockPoint drive and the gravity tethers. The ShockPoint drive uses the power of anti-matter to create a so-called warp bubble that allows a ship to travel between stars in a matter of hours and the gravity tethers allow to drag enormous objects. The CEC, which has become a billion dollar company, proposes to EarthGov to build a ship with this technology to use it for a new mining technique called 'planet cracking'. Planet cracking is, quite literally, the dismantling of planets and moons on a macro-scale. Entire worlds are fractured to reveal the rich seams of valuable minerals contained inside. Despite environmentalist concerns, the operation is perfectly safe (except if the gravity tethers fail) and is the only way to extract the necessary resources on the large scale required to supply Earth and the colonies. The green light is given and CEC begins the construction of the _USG Ishimura_ and starts scanning planets and moons within the Solar System (or Sol if you please) for rich mineral deposits.

2446: Even though the threat of nuclear war is averted and the fact that the first Planet Cracker-class vessel; the _USG Ishimura_ is launched, countries declare war again. The Resource Wars begin. The _USG Ishimura_ leaves for its first planet crack which ironically takes place on a moon of Saturn; Titan.

2447 – 2496: The CEC builds more planet cracking vessels, like the _USG Perseus_, which is even bigger than the _Ishimura_. The Resource Wars also subdue, due to planet cracking activities.

2499: Wanat Disaster: three supply ships, one planet-cracker, and a CEC colony are lost due to gravity tether failure. EarthGov warns CEC that their ranks maybe infiltrated by Unitology extremists.

2503: The colony of Shanxi is founded and is the first planet humanity discovers that is able to sustain organic live. A nearby planet is cracked and a strong EDF presences is formed to protect the booming colony of Shanxi and because it's on the border of Humanities territories

2504: A data cache is found on mars again. It doesn't contain drawings this time, but ancient technology. After the data is translated and analysed, scientists disregard most of the technology as unnecessary as the ShockPoint drive is far more efficient and doesn't require the so-called Mass Relay. However, scientists get more insight in Element Unknown, its characteristics and applications. Multiple companies and EarthGov begin research programs regarding the Element.

2505: As an experiment of CEC, the Charon Relay near Pluto is activated and tested. However, the experiment ends horribly as the first ship to use the relay explodes. Scientist conclude that the ShockPoint drive and the relay make a dangerous combination. Relays become off-limits and EDF patrols make sure nobody comes close. Relays remain an interesting research subject for astrophysicists.

2508: The Resource Wars officially end.

2507: The _USG Ishimura_ arrives at the Shanxi spaceport in preparation of its illegal planet crack of Aegis 7.

##Codex Update##

**Planet Crackers or Planet Cracker-class vessels**: These enormous ships are essential to a planet cracking operation. Usually more than one mile or kilometre long, these ships have enough space to store all the minerals coming from the gigantic pieces of planet they pull up with their gravity tethers. The crew is around a thousand men strong and usually consists out of colonists, miners and sustaining personnel such as doctors and engineers.

These ships have almost no defence capabilities. They only posses an ADS cannons (Asteroid Defence System). They have a small security team, but these are not military trained. However, the hull and Gravity Shield are very strong and thus the ship can take several hits from a dreadnought before taking any serious damage.

**Gravity Shields**: The Gravity Shield can be compared to a kinetic barrier any non-human ship has. However, Gravity Shields are ten times stronger than a kinetic barrier. The ShockPoint drive or, when the ship is a planet cracker, the gravity tethers generate the artificial gravity within a ship. The ShockPoint drive or gravity tethers form a strong gravity field around a ship. It's almost impossible for ships with ShockPoint drives to collide, just as it's almost impossible to let two north poles of a magnet touch. If an object is fired from another ship it creates an own gravity field and collides with the Gravity Shield of the ship that uses a ShockPoint drive, it will perish under the force of its own speed and gravity. The bigger the object that is fired or is on colliding course with the Shield, the higher the changes are that it's going to penetrate the Shield as its gravity field could be greater than the Gravity Shield on the location of impact.

**RIG**: Resource Integration Gear, or RIG for short, is an integrated health management and strength augmentation system that assist users in previously impossible and dangerous environments. All RIGs share several basic functions. A spine-mounted display serves to indicate the user's general state of health as a glowing bar. When the user dies, it emits a 'flat-line' sound which others nearby can hear. Holographic projectors mounted on the wrists can create a two-dimensional display in front of the user, to display whatever they might need to see. The size of the display can vary depending upon the data it is accessing. It can also project a coloured line to guide the user to a destination, be it a location or a service like a store or workbench. It is capable of two-way audio and visual communication. RIG users can be individually tracked if need-be, even if dead. For more dangerous work, RIGs are installed in full-body suits. These suits, in addition to the RIG's basic functions, have features such as an internal oxygen supply for work in a vacuum, gravity boots, and thrusters for zero-gravity movement, and armour to protect against damage from various sources. Finally, RIGs can be used as a form of biometric lock, only allowing specific RIG users access to designated areas, though such scanners fail to take into account whether the user is living or dead.

RIGs vary greatly depending on the user's occupation and status. A civilian RIG is very different from an EDF Marine RIG or an engineer's RIG.

**EDF Marine Corp**: The EDF MC is the backbone of the EDF military force. Before 2400 EDFs basic forces consisted out of light infantry, however this was later changed due to the failed intervention attempt in the beginning of the 25th century. General Augustus Wolfgang stated that EDF couldn't do its job properly because they were simply too weak and demanded that EarthGov raised the bar. The light infantry was first replaced by the Ranger Division and later by the Marine Corp.

A standard Marines outfit consists out of the Advanced Soldier RIG; a military-grade RIG with build-in Stasis and Kinesis modules. The Advanced Soldier RIG is a fatigue and body armour assembly designed for combat use, and is standard issue protective wear for EDF Marines and Sailors. The assembly is composed primarily of dark grey, vacuum-rated fatigues bearing a number of utility pockets, and white body armour plates, including armoured boots, a cuirass, cuisses, spaulders, rerebraces, vambraces, and a head-enclosing combat helmet.

Standard weaponry of an EDF Marine is the SWS Motorized Pulse Rifle; a triple-barrelled assault rifle with a rapid rate of fire and large magazine ammunition capacity. The Pulse Rifle fires ultra low calibre rounds at hypersonic speeds, each carrying tremendous amounts of kinetic energy: these rounds are designed to squash on impact, transferring their energy to the target and causing immense localised trauma. This effect is immediate and pronounced in unarmoured targets, with impacts liquefying soft tissues and fracturing bones; in the event that targets are not directly killed by fire, they will be rendered incapacitated by grievous wounds and pronounced hydrostatic shock. As well, such low calibre rounds render the Pulse Rifle an ideal weapon for shipboard combat, as they lack the penetrative power necessary to rupture ship hulls.

More on EDF marine: wiki/Advanced_Soldier_RIG


	2. Chapter 2: One cold hearted bitch

##Authors note##

Hello once again. This is my second chapter for A different path. I want to thank everyone for taking the time to write a review. The last chapter was only a pilot and introduction to see if my concept worked . Apparently, it works, so I have decided to continue the story and sorry for the broken link on the last chapter. I can't find a link that works, so if you want to see the soldiers rig just copy past this into Google: Advanced Soldier RIG. Then click on the first link.

I also want to apologise that it took this long to post antother chapter, but was very busy with my study and it took a lot of time to write this chapter. More than I thought when I began with it. I want to deliver quality work and take my time with the story, so it maybe a little slow paced in the beginning. But if you stick with the story your dedication will be rewarded.

Remember the codex is down there, describing the basic things about the Mass Effect, respectively the Dead Space universe.

**Chapter 2: One Cold hearted bitch**

**Shanxi Space Port, Relaxation Sector.**

'Ha! You could never beat me in a game of zero-G basketball and you know that as well as I do, MacGregor!'

'Oi, quit yer yapping and get yerself into position, Shepard!' The two, rather big, men move into position on the court.

'Okay Shepard, nurmal rules and no derty tricks this time!'

'Fine, but what you call dirty tricks, I call skill.'

'Yeh right. Computer would you be so kindley to shut off the Gravety'

'_Off course, Lieutenant MacGregor, entering Zero-G._'

As soon as the gravitational forces disappeared, the game was on. Shepard immediately pushed himself from the floor to catch the floating ball in mid air. MacGregor did the same. Shepard caught the ball and activated his magnet shoes to pull himself down. Suddenly, the ball was jacked from his hands in by a floating MacGregor

'Suprise, sucker!' MacGregor shouted 'Didn't see that one coming, did ya'.

Shepard, who was still being pulled down by his magnet shoes, grunted angrily.

'You got lucky, MacGregor'.

'Oh, is that so, then you probabley consider this as luckay too.' A horn sounded as MacGregor slam dunked the ball into the ring. 'Ha ha, Shepard, it seems that yer errogance has a bad effect on yer sight. Otherwise ye would have seen me coming.'

'No, you just got lucky and I´m going to destroy you now. Kiddie time is over!'

'_All marines report to the main terminal in thirty minutes, the Victory will leave in an about hour and will not wait for latecomers.'_

'Quit yer yapping, Dimitri. They always wait for latecomers. Lets finish this game ferst!'

'Agreed, I need to prove that you were lucky.'

'*_Ahem*, this call is final, I will not tolerate latecomers this time and I highly suggest lieutenant MacGregor and Shepard to shower and get their asses to the terminal. We. Will. Not. Wait!'_ The intercom disconnected with a loud shrieking sound.

'Unbelievable, is that man spying on us or something? Computer, activate gravity please!'

'_Gravity restored'_ a computerised voice announced. The two lieutenants walked into the hallway leading to the showers.

'Than Dimitri asks: _"Why do you guys hate me? Why does everyone hate the logistics officer?'_ Well Dimitri, this is why. Spying on people and embarrassing them over a public intercom which is heard throughout the whole station tend to make people hate you.' Shepard grumpily mumbles.

'Dimitri is a good guy, but with a giant steck up his arse.' MacGregor explained.

'You know, if we weren't cut off by Dimitri back there, I would have totally kicked your ass!'

Shepard almost stumbles forward as he is slapped on the back of his head. 'ha ha, Shut yer yapping hole, Shepard!'

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'**The Sprawl' (Titan Station), Tram 1-B.**

'Repent! Convergence is at hand!'

Isaac Clarke face palmed himself. These guys didn't knew the meaning of the words 'I am not interested' for some reason, he thought by himself. 'Sir, I will say it once again, I am not interested in your church or your believes!'

'Sir, you can't close your eyes for the marvels the divine marker has brought us and for the divine convergence. It will set humanity free!'

'_Now approaching central station' _Ah, my destination has finally been reached, Halle-fucking-luiah! Time to get the hell away from this crazy guy.

As Isaac left the tram, the crazy guy welcomed the next travellers as if the tram was his church.

I pity those people. These Unitologists get more and more pushy every day, Isaac thought.

Isaac continued to make his way to the CEC factory entrance located on the east side of the station. As he walked into the atrium with commuters and other CEC personnel, he noticed Jack Taylor, his colleague and friend.

'Hey Isaac! Are you ready for another day of work and sustain the bullshit that will come from the mouths of our beloved ignorant colleagues?'

'No, Jack, I have one hell of a headache and I just had another sermon from one of those Unicrazies.'

'Auch. Yeah I hear ya, they get more and more annoying. Saying a fancy formed rock created mankind and will make us all immortal or something. Ha ha, absolute bullshit!'

A horn sounded and the factory doors opened. The CEC personnel made their way into the factory.

'Clarke, Taylor, over here!'

'What is it, boss?'

'You got a new cargo pilot today, Chen is sick. This is Ellie Langford, Ellie, these are Isaac Clarke and Jack Taylor. They are your engineers for the day. Don't worry, they are experienced.'

A women with piercing brown eyes and brown hair looked at them. Her hair was divided into pigtails, but surprisingly, it didn't look slutty. Her body was nicely formed; average height, her skin was a little brown tinted, big, but not to big breasts, nice sturdy legs and small freckles around her eyes and nose. She made a very confident and stern impression. However, Isaac thought there would be a soft and loyal side to her. Isaac turned his head to Jack and looked him in the eye. Jack looked back and raised his eyebrow. Isaac rolled his eyes. Oh god, he has found his pray for the day, Isaac thought.

Jack was a womanizer. Every day he choose another girl to chase. Isaac chuckled. Most of the time Jack failed in his attempts to get a woman in his bed and those moments of rejection entertained the whole engineering crew. Yet, Isaac had to admit that this woman before him was impressive and - to his own shock - felt intrigued by her appearance. He didn't like that and if Nicole (his girlfriend) knew it, there would be no place to hide for her wrath fuelled by jealousy.

'I will leave you alone now, I got more work to do.' and with those words their boss ran off to another task.

'Okay, Clarke, Taylor, walk with me. I will explain what we have to do today.' Ellie said with a firm voice.

Ah, She has an English accent.

'So Elli, what do you like to do in your free time?' Taylor asked

'Nothing that concerns you Taylor.' Ellie said with a stern face.

'Owww, already shot down, captain romance' Isaac said with a smile.

'Not at all, Isaac, she loves me, she just doesn't know it yet.' Taylor said jokingly.

'Riiiiight, off course Taylor. Clarke, I have heard stories about you. You seem to deliver flawless work.'

Taylor chuckled and said; 'I can deliver flawless work too, but somewhere else...' Isaac bursts into laughing, but Ellie looks like she is ready to slap Taylor, hard.

'Taylor, I suggest you stop your incredibly lame jokes and flirt attempts before you get a serious work related injury...'

'Okay, okay, I will stop'

Yeah right, Isaac thought, brace yourself for a day of resisting these bad flirt attempts, Ellie. He will not stop until it is 00:00.

'Your job is to fix my VTOLs air-conditioning and help with the removal of an old steel fundament pillar on the Titan shard.' Ellie announced. 'Just routine work... if you guys do it right. Once you have removed the fundament from its fixed position I will lift it with my VTOL and we'll transport it to factory. Then, we'll leave it with Processing. I don't want any whining and I want this done before lunch. Understood?'

'Yes ma'am!' the two man say in unison.

'Jeez, she's one cold hearted bitch.' Taylor whispered to Isaac.

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**Shanxi Space Port, Terminal Alpha.**

Shepard and MacGregor entered the terminal with their baggage and immediately saw stressed EDF personnel everywhere. The whole terminal was in service of the _USM Victory_ and not without a reason. Terminal Alpha was a dome with an atrium and as Shepard looked up he saw the dreadnought.

'Jesus H Christ, that thing is big!' Shepard said in awe. 'It's the first time I'll be serving on her.'

'Than I'll well show ya around, I know the ship better than anyone!' MacGregor said with his loud and firm voice.

'Huh, you served on her before?' Shepard said with an raised eyebrow.

'What do ya think I was doing when ya were still in booth camp, Shepard?' MacGregor explained.

'Well I don't know, writing your memoires?' Shepard said with a sarcastic voice.

'Ha, very funny, but I still know more about modern combat than ya du, Shepard.' MacGregor said.

Shepard and MacGregor arrived at a baggage trolley reserved for EDF marines.

'Well, well well, look who we have here, Dimitri Glukovski, our decorated and brave logistics officer!' Shepard said with a venomous smile.

'Shepard and MacGregor, finally, this trolley was about to leave. You're late!' Dimitri said angrily.

'Shut yer mouth, where here twenty minutes prior. I have never been this arley.' MacGregor almost shouted.

'Well, I suggest you board the ship, now! Oh and Shepard, admiral Hackett and captain Anderson would like to see you on the bridge'

'Okay, than I will.. uhm... go see them than.'

'Remember Shepard, high ranking officers generally don't like to wait, especially when it's important and you bet your ass it's important. They would never ask for a lieutenant just for mere chitchat.' Dimitri said with his head held high, as he was some kind of important person.

Shepard and MacGregor dumped their baggage on the trolley and went to the entrance of the ship.

'Arrogant asshole' Shepard mumbled with angry face.

'Don't let Dimitri get to ya this easy.' Macgregor said and gave him a pat on his back.

Shepard entered the ship through the giant bulkhead doors, but before MacGregor entered, he took one last look at the terminal and at the ship's hull. 'This ship could take out another Dreadnought with one hit. She can be one cold harted bitch.'

'I'll see you at mess time. I got to go see the admiral and captain first.'

'Okay Shepard, see you then.'

Shepard made his way through the busy arrival hall of the ship and arrived at the tram station. As Shepard tried to get in the rather compact tram coupé, he stumbled over something and accidently took a girl standing in front of him in his journey to the floor.

'Auw, watch where you're going ass-, oh, I am sorry, lieutenant.' the girl said with an surprised face.

'No, you don't have to apologise. I accidently grabbed you. My mistake.' Shepard said with a weak smile.

'I shouldn't have been so rude' the girl said with a weak voice. 'You being the hero of Scorpio 6 and all...'

'Well, that was a long time ago miss...' said with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

'Williams, Ashley Williams. Gunnery Chief. 2nd marine shock division, sir!' Ashley saluted.

'At ease.' Shepard said with a smile 'I am Lieute..'

'Lieutenant Shepard, hero of Scorpio 6, saviour of the challenger colony! I know everything about you and I am also a little jealous! You're one of the few marines on this ship that have seen actual combat! I have always wondered why we have such a big army, but we have no enemies to fight.' Ashley said.

'You never know, because there is defiantly something going on. From the looks of it they are gathering a small invasion force here.'

'Yeah, this doesn't look like a another normal "grand exercise to prepare for a galactic conflict on a major scale" as our military board likes to call it.'

As their conversation went on, many stations passed by.

'_Now arriving at: Mercury commercial promenade.'_

'That's my stop. It was nice meeting you lieutenant, I hope I see you at mess time tonight.' Ashley made her way through all of the military personnel on the tram and Shepard quickly lost sight of her.

'_Next station: the bridge.' _

Once Shepard had finally struggled his way out of the tram, he walked up to the big stairs that went to the bridge. A quick ID check and some phone calls granted him access to the bridge and so he began to climb the stairs. When he arrived at the end of the stairs, he stopped and once again was struck with awe. The bridge was an enormous hall . He had once seen pictures of Grand Central Station in – the now completely submerged due to climate change - New York City, this bridge was two times bigger and the ceiling was two stories higher than in Grand Central. Gigantic windows that reached up to the ceiling gave an incredible and beautiful view of space, the space station and Shanxi. Shepard couldn't see the end of the windows, because the floor Shepard was standing on, was the main floor. The floors were divided as rice terraces and went down another 20 meters. The floor Shepard was standing on was the stem of all the "terraces". Two big pillars in the middle of the bridge divided it in half. In the middle of those pillars was a large plateau on which the admiral, captain and other high ranking officers made the important decisions and would have a good overview of the bridge and space. He saw endless rows of holoterminals with personnel behind them and the situation struck Shepard as an organised mess. 'Shepard!' A voice shouted his name and he snapped out of his awestruck state. He searched for the source of the shout. He spotted captain Anderson marching to him.

'Shepard, you're finally here!' Anderson said with determined look in his eyes.

'Sorry, sir, the tram wasn't exactly fast, sir!' Shepard shouted.

'At ease, lieutenant, at ease.' Anderson said with a relaxed smile on his face 'No need to be so formal. I'm not your drill instructor.'

Shepard suppressed a smile. He failed.

'We better get moving. The admirals patient is not endless in contrary to popular believe.' Shepard and Anderson made their way to the two pillars that turned out to be elevator shafts.

As soon as Anderson and Shepard walked onto the plateau, Shepard immediately felt seriously outranked. There were two generals, one admiral – namely Hackett –, two colonels, one major, Anderson – the captain of the ship –, two helmsman, two navigators and the EarthGov Minister of Defence.

'Attention, captain on deck!' one of the navigators announced.

The high ranking personnel saluted the captain and Shepard. Anderson and Shepard did the same.

'Well, we can finally get this meeting started.' the admiral said with a stern face. He nodded to the rest of the personnel on the plateau and they began to made their way to the elevator.

Anderson and Shepard took their place around the table. Shepard scanned the plateau. He saw that there was another plateau attached to the one he was standing on. It was a little lower and provided a good view into space. In the middle of that plateau was a big chair for the captain or admiral if he was present. Around the chair were a lot holoterminals facing the front window. In front of the captains chair there was the helm and next to it the back-up helm for the second-navigator.

Hackett cleared his throat. 'Shepard, we have something really important to tell you.'

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'**The Sprawl' (Titan Station), CEC factory; Processing.**

The VTOL released its cables and the pillar dropped on the shock resistant floor.

'Glad that's finally over! At one point I thought that thing went through the entire shard and would never come loose. I have to tell the boss that I'm not going to do anymore of this surprise jobs, they're a pain in the ass.' Isaac complained with a tired, but satisfied face.

'Yeah and you know what makes it ten times worse, that devilish woman in the cockpit over there.' and Taylor pointed his finger to the VTOL.

Taylor leaned against the wall and used it to slip to the ground and sat down. Taylor continued his soliloquy.

'The only thing she was good for, was giving unnecessary advice. Like, I didn't know I had to release the pressure on the gravity boosters AFTER I had secured the anti-float chains. I'm an experienced engineer for fuck sake.' He said with a frustrated sweaty face.

Ellie exited the VTOL and walked to them. 'Taylor, you know I heard that and I have another job for you. Replacing my busted arrays, because you didn't secure one of the anti-float chains!'

Taylor looked up to Isaac and mimicked Ellies face in a mocking way. Isaac laughed and said 'Don't worry, it will not take long with my help.'

'Well Isaac, the boss just called; he wants to see you in his office. Now.' Ellie said while checking her RIG.

'Hmmm, okay, off I go than. Good luck Jack, I'll see you in the _lonesome asteroid _tonight with the rest of the guys.'

'Yeah, I'll see you then, IF I'm not "accidently" killed by accident in the following hours.' He made a "subtle" head gesture to were Ellie was standing. Ellie gave him an angry glance.

'Taylor, my arrays are waiting!'

Isaac made his way to his bosses office. He first changed out of his heavy-engineering suit into his regular civilian clothes for comfort.

The door of the supervisors office swiftly opened. 'Ah, Clarke. Take a seat please.'

Isaac sat down and said 'Is this an job evaluation conversation?'

'No, not at all. I got something to tell you. It might come as a shock.' Isaac gave his boss a suspicious glance. His boss continued. 'At three past two this afternoon the _USG Ishimura_ send out an automated distress call. You probably know that this bad, very bad. The ship has only send out three distress signal in its 62 years of service. Those occasions were all critical, the _Ishimura _only sends out an distress signal when they can't solve the problem or if there are more than one system failures.'

Isaac knew this was bad. Those three distress signals were manually send out and this one was automatic. That means that of the 1332 people onboard - during these system failures - nobody was able to send out a distress signal. His boss looked at his holodisplay and said

'Now Isaac, I know you got something of special interest on the ship. Your girlfriend, Nicole, is currently working on the ship as the senior-medical officer, am I right?' his boss asked.

'Yes, that's correct.' Isaac nervously said with a worried look in his eyes.

'Well, you're the best systems engineer we have and I know you want to know if your girlfriend is alright. So I have signed you up for the repair mission. I hope that's all right with you?'

'Yes, yes off course. That's all right. When do I leave? Do I have to finish the job with Jack and Ellie?' Isaac said very fast.

'No, Taylor will take care of that and the repair mission departs tomorrow at nine in the morning from the Government Sector; terminal 2. I have sent everything we know to your personal terminal. Just study it and go to sleep early, you'll need the rest if you want to be up to the job you have to pull off tomorrow.' his boss said.

'Okay, but has there been any news on what happened.' Isaac said, wondering what could have happened, but Isaac quickly stopped his wondering because he began to imagined all kinds of doom scenarios.

'No, there hasn't been any news yet released by the CEC headquarters. Everyone is being kept in the dark about the specifics. The only thing I know is that the _Ishimura _has sent out an automated distress signal and that I have to find a good systems engineer. But Isaac?'

'Yes' Isaac asked.

'Just think of it this way; you get twice the regular pay and you get to see your girlfriend earlier than expected. I hear long distance relationships don't last very long.' his boss said jokingly with a genuine smile on his face. Isaac laughed a little and the joke, even if it was lame, brightened his mood. He sighed, hit the armrests of the chair he was in and stood up.

'Good luck Clarke, I trust you get the situation there under control in no time!' his boss stood up and Isaac shook his hand.

'I'll do my best boss' and Isaac walked to the door.

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**Onboard the **_**USM Victory**_**, bridge; control plateau.**

'Shepard, we have something really important to tell you. You just got promoted. Congratulations commander! We also grant you the command of a elite taskforce.' Shepard was stunned. Why was he being promoted? Why did they give him the command over his very own taskforce.

'No.' Shepard said firmly.

'No?' Hackett said surprised, raising an eyebrow.

'No, as in "I don't accept it". The promotion, I mean.'

'Why in the hell won't you accept it?' Hackett said a little annoyed.

'Because I will be ripped out of my current unit. The brothers I know and trust with my life.' Shepard said.

'Shepard, most of your unit is in the elite taskforce Lieutenant MacGregor, Sergeant van Dijk and corporals Sargare and Li.' That was by far not Shepards unit, but at least Shepards best friends were in the taskforce.

'In addition, we are not asking you to accept the promotion, we are telling you to.' the minister of defence said with a smile on his face. Shepard didn't like the man before they met for particular reasons, but he didn't want to start an unnecessary fight.

'The reason you're being promoted and this taskforce is being created' Anderson said with a serious face 'is because you and the rest of the taskforce are the best we have. All trained and experienced. Moreover, you're a hero Shepard. A legend in the making.'

One of the generals began to speak 'We need you Shepard, for your mission might be one only the best can bring to a successful end. Take a look at the hologram.' Everyone fixated their eyes on the hologram floating above the table. The hologram changed Shanxi into another planet.

'This is Exo planet EXP-21, nicknamed "The garden of Eden or New Eden". It has recently been discovered by deep space explorers and - if their scanners do not fail us - it's almost a perfect copy of Earth. A paradise humanity has always scoured the galaxy for. However, when the explorers returned after a week, they picked up a lot of radio activity. All this messages were spoken in an unknown language. Our mission is that we figured out what is going on there and to secure the planet at all costs.' The general said with an serious and concentrated look on his face.

'So that's why we are preparing an invasion fleet. So, if we encounter some kind of space faring and intelligent species after so many centuries we can all blow them to hell, right?' Shepard said sarcastically.

'Watch your tone, Commander.' The other, older general said. His eyes sparkled under his officers cap.

'I suppose you know the main strategy of the EDF, commander?' The general asked.

'I don't know, uhmm, being arrogant, try to interfere with something, but eventually failing because of politicians' Shepard looked at the minister 'and show incompetent leadership.' Shepard returned his eyes to the general.

The general closed his eyes and shook his head. 'I'm beginning to question your judgement skills, Hackett, you've picked a frustrated little boy for a man's job. I guess this kid hates success, otherwise he wouldn't be this... disrespectful.'

The general opened his eyes and said 'No, little boy, our strategy is overkill; _Shock and Awe_. Then, destroy the hostiles communications and wipe them out. This ship is one of the most advanced, powerful and oldest warship in the whole galaxy since it got upgraded with a ShockPoint drive and became twice its original size. Next to our proud flag ship the _USM Homo Sapiens, _this is the perfect ship for a _Shock and Awe_ strategy to succeed.' the general said with pride.

'You seem confident enough, general. Why do you need me for then?' Shepard said while stretching his arms.

Hackett was the one to open his mouth this time 'Our modern "Blitzkrieg" can't work without good intelligence and reconnaissance work. You and your taskforce are our reconnaissance and "first contact" team.'

Hackett used finger quotes and Shepard had to laugh 'Ah, now I get it, you need me and my friends to get in there without any knowledge about these so-called aliens and this planet, accomplish a detailed reconnaissance mission against enemies who might just find us very quickly with superior technology and torture us in horrible ways if we get caught or we catch some kind of alien decease that can't be cured. Or we just get shot and die a lame death.'

The minister rolled his eyes . 'You're quite cynical, Shepard, you could look on the bright side.'

In Shepards eyes raged fury 'tell that to my dead friends on Scorpio -6 that couldn't be saved because helped arrived too late. Guess who was the minister of defence that day and age, who was too busy screwing his young secretary, that he didn't have the time to sign a reinforcement order?'

Two months ago the ministers affair had become public and damaged his political position dearly.

The ministers eyes were full with anger 'You watch your mouth, Shepard!'

'Make me.' Shepard said with a firm and angry voice.

Anderson quickly interfered to stop the situation from escalating. 'This is not the time for personal feuds, we got work to do. This ship is leaving in half an hour and I want Shepard briefed and introduced to the rest of the taskforce before mess time.'

Hackett nodded his head 'I agree with Anderson, we shouldn't waste time here. Shepard, you'll will be briefed about the specifics on this mission in the captains nest, just follow Anderson. I'll be there soon.'

Shepard and Anderson stepped in the elevator and the commander made eye contact with the minister one more time. 'Screw you' Shepard whispered and before he could see a reaction the elevator doors closed.

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**The Citadel; Asari councillors office. Four days prior.**

'Not a change, I'm not going to pursue whatever that cursed thing is pointing at!' Liara T'Soni almost shouted.

'Dokter T'Soni I can assure that the shard had nothing to do with the death of your excavation team.' the Asari ambassador said with a clam voice 'they died because they didn't listen. They shouldn't have moved the pillars to reach the shard.' If glances could kill, Liara would have already killed the ambassador ten times.

50 years ago, just before she graduated of the Asari institute for alien history, culture and technology, she and the rest of her class went to a newly discovered underground Prothean vault. It was an unusual structure, because it was the sturdiest Prothean structure ever discovered and contained only one object: the shard. They had orders not to touch or move the shard, but one of her class mates did. The vault collapsed. However, Liara was upstairs asking her mother why she was leaving Thessia without explanation, why her mother wouldn't say where she was going and when she would return. It was the worst day of her life so far. He mother disappeared almost without explanation and almost all her classmates died. After a couple of days they dug up the bodies and the shard. She wanted to destroy it, but it didn't matter how many explosives she used, it just didn't break. When the expedition leader found out, they took the shard from her and transported it to a research station on Thessia.

'How can you say that ambassador, don't you got any empathy. Did I just cross half the galaxy to be insulted and hear that that cursed thing from the past is haunting me again.' Liara said astonished

'No, we wanted you here because we have an important task for you. Like I said, the shard is suddenly illuminated and it's pointing upwards. Our experts discovered it is emitting a beam that goes through everyting and that can't be seen with the naked eye. They followed the beam and it stopped in an uncharted cluster in the dead systems.' the ambassador explained.

Liara raised an eyebrow and asked 'Why do you need me, you got your experts'

Suddenly, the councillor – who had been staring through the window since Liara had set foot in the office – turned around and said 'Your are one of our best field experts and expert on Prothean technology. We only want the best people there, if you find something valuable. People we can trust. And Prothean technology is always valuable. For all we know it could be pointing at an Prothean weapons archive, we can't let someone discover what's there first and let it fall into the wrong hands. Thanks to you those Prothean ruins on Therum didn't fall in the hands of one of those Volus mining companies.'

The ambassador nodded her head and said 'The mission shouldn't take that much time. You explained in your report that you found the ruins on Therum, because you "felt" they were there. Liara looked to the ground.

'I wrote that , because I was tired and I still had to write that report. Instead of explaining all the scanning and searching .' Laira explained.

The ambassador massaged her eyelids with her fingers and sighted.

'It doesn't matter, you still found those ruins relatively quickly and almost instantly knew what they were once used for. That takes skill and knowledge and we need that skill and knowledge.' the councillor said.

The councillor sat down behind her desk and the ambassador took her place behind the ambassador.

The ambassador crossed her arms and said 'The mission is very simple. You will go to the uncharted cluster with a specialised excavation team under the protection of the best commandos I can find. You find planet the shard is pointing at, find whatever is on that planet and – if it's an artefact - prepare it for extraction. It will be taken back to Thessia for further analysis and you and your team will stay there if there are more ruins or artefacts. It's a simple mission and you will get generously paid. Not to think of the amount valuable information about the Protheans you will discover. It will be a goldmine for you!'

Liara suddenly realised that her scepticism had been replaced by excitement. 'Okay, I'll do it, but I want fully capable mining robots. I don't want my whole excavation team whipped out again.'

The ambassador wasn't a woman of great patients and was clearly annoyed. This meeting was taking too long and she didn't want to miss her lunch. 'I'm sorry doctor T'Soni, we can't d-'

'We will get you your robots doctor. Don't worry about it.' the councillor said while looking trough some papers on her desk.

The ambassador frowned, shook her head and whispered to the councillor 'Ma'am, I don't know if I ca-'

The councillor waved the back of her hand in the direction of the ambassador. 'I don't want to hear it, you get it done.'

The councillor raised her head. 'So doctor, are you accepting the mission?'

Liara frowned and considered what the ambassador and councillor had proposed 'Yes, I accept the mission.'

The councillor suddenly stood up and smiled. 'Wonderful, you'll get an email within the hour with all the information you need about the mission.'

Liara shook the councillors and ambassadors hand and exited the office. She didn't regret that she had said yes. However, she had a bad feeling about the mission for some reason.

##Codex update##

**Human ship classes: **Humanity has a wide variety of ships types that can be divided into two main groups: USG (mining, civilian) and USM (military ships). USG stands for United Spacefaring Guilt, a guilt overseeing the amount, quality and safety of all mining and civilian ships. USM stands for United Spacefaring Military and stands under the direct supervision of EarthGov. Civilian and mining ships put USG in front of the name of the ship respectively USM if it's an military vessel.

There are a lot of variations within the ship classes, but the ships can be divided into multiple basic classes. If the ship is military there are five different classes:

The dreadnaught-class: A gigantic war ship, also known as a _Man 'o War_, that are suited for all kinds of military operations. For example, It can launch a planetary invasion on its own. The human flag ship, the _USM Homo Sapiens_, has a length of 1.8 kilometres or approximately one mile and a width of 500 metres (547 yards). The extreme length is needed for the dreadnaughts main cannon. An anti-matter mass acceleration cannon or A.M.A.C. that shoots a gigantic amount (two litres) of anti-matter at its target. On impact, the extreme amount of gravitational energy destroys any kinetic or gravity shielding the target has. The rest of the anti-matter collides with the hull of the target and vaporizes the target from the inside out. Normally, only 2 percent of a target the size of a human dreadnaught survives. To create enough speed for the payload, the ship needs the length.

The dreadnaught is a support vessel and is a 'sitting duck' in battle. However, its gigantic ShockPoint drive ensures that only another dreadnaught with the firepower of an A.M.A.C. could have a change at destroying it.

The frigate-class: The backbone of the military navy. Supports the dreadnaughts with its mighty nuclear torpedoes, pulse cannons and with its large tonnage used to transport additional troops and materials to the battlefield.

The destroyer-class: Specialised in ship destruction, this ship is the one you see on the frontlines. Usually in combination with vipers and frigates, its deathly Gravity Polarisation Torpedo's rip through most gravity and kinetic shielding, creating a change for the vipers to finish the job.

The viper-class: An attack ship named 'the Viper'. Usually just over 200 meter or 492 feet long, used for quick attacks. Because of its fast movement, flexibility and the ability to land on planets, it's the ideal attack vehicle. However, it cannot penetrate large gravity shields. It usually gets assistants from destroyers and frigates.

The Wai Lao-class: created by Wai Lao, a Chinese engineer who wanted to combine a shuttle with the advantages of a real ship, which would fit in a large shuttle bay of any ship as big or bigger than a frigate. Usually used as a ground forces carrier that deploys troops on a planet, they're also used as discovery vessels in the mining business or as a personal ship. However, this is only the case if there is no explorer-class vessel available (see below).

Mining and private vessels can be divided into six different classes:

Planet cracker-class: Please revere to the specific section for _Planetcrackers _in this codex.

Personnel Conveyor-class: normally send ahead, it prepares a planet for the arrival of a planet cracker by establishing a mining colony.

Resource Extractor-class: Helps a planet cracker to extract resources for a mined part of a planet. Also used to carry additional loads if a planet cracker has not enough space for said loads.

Cruiser-class: These large ships are used both for civilian transport across humanities territories and for vacation and relaxation purposes.

Explorer-class: Ship that belong to this class are specialised in deep space exploration and can set up an outpost on almost every planet. They're also used in mapping the galaxy, deploying communication buoys and, in the mining industry, to search for mineral rich planets.

The Wai Lao-class.

All mining and civilian ships have no or limited offence capabilities, but their gravity shield and ADS cannons give some kind of protection against an attack.

**Stasis module: **Stasis is a field of science and technology based on advanced quantum physics. The Stasis Module is used to temporarily slow all motion of both organic and inorganic material, relative to normal time, and functions by creating a temporal stasis field in a designated volume around the targeted objective.

Commercially, it is used to slow down dangerous malfunctioning equipment until it can be repaired or replaced. Stasis has found wide applications in the surgical field, as stasis beds can be seen in the Sprawl, where patients who are suffering from otherwise terminal conditions or incredible trauma (such as the loss of whole limbs) can be put into stasis while suitable equipment and staff are assembled and organized to render treatment. Judging from its use in the Police and Soldier RIGs, it is also apparent that the Stasis Module is also used as a nonlethal weapon when apprehending dangerous criminals, presumably freezing them temporarily so that they can be handcuffed.

Stasis modules that are installed in RIGs and can be deployed by the wearer of the RIG only have a certain amount of energy. Thus the stasis field disappears after a couple of seconds. However, stationary modules can sustain a stasis field for months, if not years.

**Kinesis module: **Telekinesis ('Kinesis'), also referred to as 'G.R.I.P.', is a small modular plug-in resembling a thick, six-vaned heat sink designed for use with the Stasis Module. Whereas Stasis causes an object to slow down, Kinesis is used to suspend and handle objects both heavy and light via an artificial gravity field created by the module.

It's the technology that allows human engineers and construction crews to move large masses easily in almost any environment. Hands-on Zero-Point applications have found use not only space-borne construction, but also on planetary projects where bulkier construction exoskeletons and machinery are not suited, nor welcome.

Kinesis works by projecting a tube of crackling white energy (an artificial gravity field) from the glove slip's palm emitter pad. Once grabbed by the leading edge of the energy tube, the desired object's gravity is presumably nullified and drawn toward the wielder. Small objects will stop about a foot from the pad, suspended in midair, while movable objects like rail pallets and shutters come as close as their connections allow. Deactivation of the Kinesis effect releases the object, leaving it to fall in the direction of the nearest gravitational center of mass. However, reversing the tube's polarity any time after achieving latch-on causes the object to be thrown away from the wielder with a velocity inversely proportional to the distance from the palm emitter pad.

Unlike with the Stasis Module, Kinesis' energy is drawn directly from the internal power source of the user's RIG, and as such does not require replenishment.

**The dead systems: **Before Humanities existence was know by the other space faring species, the solar system and its neighbouring systems were know as 'the dead systems'. It derived its name from the low quantity of exoplanets and from the fact that even primitive life was hard to find. It was the only part of the galaxy where no intelligent life had presumably developed.

The lack of communication buoys, colonies and activated mass relays have prevented exploration and development of the systems, thus no alien spacecraft has been in the systems for nearly 200 years.

**CEC (Concordance Extraction Company): **

'_Powering Humanity into the future'. _

The Concordance Extraction Corporation, also referred to as CEC, is a public trading company at the forefront of the deep space mining industry. They are the largest solar mining and extraction company in the Earth colonies, and the fifth largest company in terms of market capital. The CEC is responsible for the creation of the giant Planet Cracker-class star ships. The CEC are the owners of the _USG Ishimura_, and _USG Kellion_; but apparently possess other similar vessels. Like the _USG Perseus_.

Their logo is a large "C" with either a red or gold planet, depending on the logo, and the corporation's headquarters is based on Earth. The company likely profits in the trillions or hundreds of billions from mining as the CEC had invested hundreds of billions into Aegis VII. The CEC owns and operates at least two ship yards: one on Mars and the other an orbital ship yard located above Earth.

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##Authors note##

I hope you had a nice read. I also hope that you'll leave a review with positive feedback and constructive criticism. The next chapter I'll post will be shorter, thus I will be alble to release chapters more frequently and I can promise you that the next chapter will also contain more action.


	3. Important message!

Important message!

Hello everyone! Unfortunately no chapter 3 yet. However, I have an important question! I'm looking for beta readers who are very good at grammar and spelling. With being good at grammar and spelling I mean a complete grammar and spelling Nazi, but keeps the integrity of the story in mind.

So, if you're interested, please contact my through PM (private message). Please write down your beta reader qualifications and then I'll decide and let you know whether you'll become one of my beta readers :)

Thank you for your attention,

Mtb17


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